Fiber optic signs have been known in the art for many years. A typical prior art fiber optic sign 100 is shown in FIG. 1.
In accordance with standard techniques, holes 101 are drilled through a plate 102. The holes 101 form the desired design which, in the example depicted in FIG. 1, is the letters "PGI".
After the desired design is formed by a plurality of such holes, light conducting fibers (not shown in FIG. 1) are inserted into the holes 101, with one fiber being inserted into each hole. The tip of a fiber must be individually glued into each hole. After all the fibers are glued into the holes 101, the unglued ends of the fibers are bunched together and subjected to a light source. The light source may periodically vary in color or intensity. Such a source is typically implemented by arranging a plurality of selective light filters between a white light source and the bunched up fibers, and then periodically changing the particular filter disposed between all or a portion of the bunched up fibers and the white light source as shown in FIG. 2. Conventional color wheels may be used, or an encoder can be employed to vary the color of the light source.
Selective filter 202 includes different portions which each pass light of a different color or intensity. Selective filter 202 may move, for example, by rotating. White light source 201 is filtered by selective filter 202 and different colors or intensities of light are transmitted through bunched up fibers 203 to the holes 101 outlining the design on plate 102. Thus, the design lights up, and different portions thereof change colors.
There are drawbacks to such a sign. For example, no automated mass production is possible. Each sign must have holes drilled to form the design, and each fiber must be manually inserted and glued into its associated hole 101. The process is time consuming and labor intensive, and the resulting sign quite costly. Since there is so much labor involved in inserting the fibers individually, usually only the outline of the desired design is defined by fibers, rather than the entire area of the design.
Those involved in this art have long accepted the fact that mass production of fiber optic signs is unfeasible. However, should a technique for such mass production become available, it would drastically decrease the cost of such signs and make them available for other markets.